January 1, 2022

A Clearer Satellite Image Could Mean Better products and Tighter Security (Source: FNN)
From GPS to weather tech to national security, satellite imagery is used for all sorts of important aspects of life here on Earth. Now, one company is looking to vastly improve the quality of those images, which means improvements in all those sectors. HySpecIQ claims it is now positioned to become the world’s leading provider of space-based hyperspectral imagery. To find out more, I spoke with the company’s senior vice president of product and sales Tim Abbott. Click here. (12/6)

Iran Admits Rocket Effort Failed; France Condemns it Amid ‘Progress’ at Vienna Talks (Source: Times of Israel)
France on Friday condemned Iran’s launch of a rocket the day before, amid negotiations in Vienna to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic. “These activities are all the more regrettable as they come at a time when we are making progress in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna,” the French foreign ministry said.

On Thursday, Iran said it launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space. But on Friday, Ahmad Hosseini, an Iranian defense ministry spokesman, revealed that the rocket failed to put its three payloads into orbit after the rocket was unable to reach the required speed, according to the news agency. (12/31)

Space Tourism Took Off In 2021, Here’s How It Happened (Source: Forbes)
After years – nay, decades – of waiting, 2021 was the year that space tourism finally launched. In the span of 10 short days in July, the commercial spaceflight sector took two giant leaps as both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin made successful first flights with paying customers aboard. While we still don’t have commercial space stations and the prices are wildly inaccessible for all but the 1% of the 1%, space tourism is officially here – and here to stay. Here are some of the highlights from the year’s successful launches and missions. (12/31)

Biden Commits to ISS Through 2030 Amid US-Russian Tensions (Source: Space Policy Online)
NASA announced today that the Biden Administratoon is committed to operating the International Space Station through 2030, a six-year extension. The sudden statement comes one day after a tense conversation where Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told President Joe Biden that any more U.S.-imposed sanctions could result in a “complete rupture” in relations. Russia is a major partner in the ISS.

Calling the ISS a “beacon of peaceful international scientific collaboration,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he was “pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration has committed to continuing station operations through 2030.” The ISS is a partnership among the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and 11 European countries working through the European Space Agency. The earth-orbiting laboratory is composed of the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the U.S. Orbital Segment (USOS). (12/31)

The 10 Strangest Space Structures Discovered in 2021 (Source: Space.com)
Orbiting more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) over Earth and separated by tens of millions of light-years from many of the interstellar objects it studies, the Hubble Space Telescope takes "working remotely" to a new extreme. Even as the world below grappled with another pandemic year, weird and wonderful space discoveries flooded in from above, with astronomers pulling back the curtain on monster black holes, invisible magnetic megastructures and a cosmic treasure trove of extraterrestrial planets. Click here. (12/31)

The 10 Biggest Exoplanet Discoveries of 2021 (Source: Space.com)
The study of exoplanets helps address questions about our place in the solar system and in the universe. For example, learning about massive gas giants can boost our understanding about how Jupiter, one of Earth's major shields from cosmic strikes, got to be where it is now located. Searching for rocky planets in habitable zones around their distinct parent stars highlights the rarity and preciousness of our planet. And discovering what is possible out there certainly inspires our imaginations. Click here. (12/31)

2021 Was an Epic year for Mars Exploration (Source: Space.com)
Mars exploration took some big steps forward in 2021. During this very eventful year, two nations joined the Mars club, a helicopter plied Red Planet skies for the first time ever and humanity kicked off an ambitious interplanetary sample-return campaign. A lot of the action took place in February, which saw the arrival of three high-profile missions at the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates' Hope mission, the Arab world's first interplanetary effort, slipped into orbit around Mars on Feb. 9. Click here. (12/31)

Japan’s Billionaire Maezawa to Release ‘No-Money World’ Movie After Trip to the Moon (Source: TASS)
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said in an interview with TASS on board of the International Space Station (ISS) that he planned to make a movie about the ‘no-money world’ after his future trip to the Moon. "I want to shoot movies about the no-money world. My explanation is not good so, people cannot understand what I imagine, so maybe I need a movie for understanding these things," he said. (12/30)